The BBC’s Moneybox program reports that debt appears to be rising fastest among women aged 60 or over, with credit card companies being singled out for criticism over lending policies.

Despite the generally lower incomes of pensioners, it appears many card companies are willing to lend large amounts with no obvious way of repaying. MP Susan Kramer points out that even unsecured debt may be claimed from an estate after a person dies, and questions whether this fact has any bearing on the willingness to increase credit limits.

In one case, a BBC radio listener found that her aunt owed £26,000 across 4 different cards, 3 of them from a single company - Barclaycard - despite the fact that her only income was from a part time job and a small pension.

The banks deny that they are purposefully targetting pensioners, but that as a group they are often excellent payers with few late payments, and this would cause their credit limits to be revised upwards over time.

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